Psych
by shopaholic90
Summary: When a young woman was found in the slums of New York, the Special Victims Unit squad are called to investigate. Their victim has been slashed all across her body and finding out who brutally killed her will be a tough case. Will they figure it out?
1. Prime crime alleys

**Psych!**

**_Rating:_ PG-13. Not for the young, or the elderly, or the faint of heart.  
_Writtenby:_ Me.... Gina!  
_Disclaimer:_ You've probably already guessed that I don't own any characters of any sort from Law and Order: Special Victims Unit... and you're absolutely right!  
_NOTE:_ I entirely welcome reviews, bad or good (though preferrably good, if you catch my gist), so please do! Thanks to everyone for correcting my silly mistakes. It won't happen again!:)**

**

* * *

**

**Prologue **

Officer Stuart kept his hand on his gun as he walked through the strangely empty streets of New York on his patrol night. This was his first shift and he kept looking around nervously in case someone behind him had a mind to knock him out. He kept walking, looking from one building to another, one garbage can to the next, when his gaze landed on dark footprints that led to the alley a few paces in front of him.

Frightened, he grabbed his radio out of pure instinct, and carefully walked while leaning on the brick walls. Right before he turned the corner, he closed his eyes and took a breath. Stuart jumped into the middle of the opening and held his gun out shakily.

"Freeze, police!" He said in a barely coherent voice.

Nobody was there. Eyes shifting cautiously, he took slow steps into the alley until he figured he was deep enough to know that there was no one lurking in there. Just as he put his gun back, someone shoved past him, pushing him into the trash with a grunt, and sprinted out of the alley before he could react.

"Crap!" Stuart cried out before he hit the can. Rubbing his back and brushing a banana peel off, he stood up and hit himself in the head for being so stupid. "I could have gotten him!" He said to himself. "I _so_ could have---" He was interrupted by the sight of a leg that was shone in the dim light of the street lamp. There was a tiny pool of blood spreading from where the body was as well. Shaking and stumbling over the can again, he grabbed his radio and immediately yelped, "I think we've got a possible rape victim. Maybe murder! Get SVU!"

The door to the drivers seat of the dark car in 24th street opened as Olivia Benson stepped out, looking weary but driven.  
"What have we got?" She asked as she approached Elliot in the alleyway, her eyes looking around the crime scene.  
"Rape victim, so I'm assuming." He replied, frowning as he watched the paramedics lift their victim onto a stretcher and took her towards their vehicle. "Stripped naked, lying in the gutter, large slashes on her stomach and arms and…" He looked at Olivia with a raised eyebrow.  
"Bastard cut her vagina." Olivia finished, looking down at where the body was found. "Dead, then?"  
"No, not quite. She's just on the edge of the cliff. Meds are going to try to do the best they can before getting to the hospital, but I don't know if she'll make it." He exhaled, taking out his hands from his pockets and getting his notepad and pen.  
"Any witnesses?" Benson asked, looking at his notepad, but she already knew the answer as they were already walking out of the alley.  
"Yep. Stan Stuart. Guard on duty for night patrol for the nearby precinct."

"I had no idea I was going to see something like that!" Stan said as he held up a hankie to his mouth to keep from barfing. "Is that lady going to be all right?"  
"We don't know." Stabler replied without emotion. "So what were you doing in the alley? What caught your attention?"  
"Um…" Stan's eyes looked up as he thought it over. "It was the footprints, I guess. Those, over there." He said, pointing at where CSU were taking pictures of the prints. "I didn't know they were blood… it was too dark to see. I figured it'd be some sort of hobo, but I thought I'd check it out anyway.  
"I uh… took out my gun and I kept it out for a while. But when I put it away, this guy shoved me away and just ran out of there."  
"Did you see what he looked like? Or what he was wearing?" Olivia asked, also taking out her notepad.  
"N-no. It was really dark and I could only see his silhouette. Um… I'd say he was a few inches taller than me… White… Uhh… He was pretty strong too." He lifted his hand to rub where he was pushed to indicate how he had figured that part out.  
Elliot Stabler exchanged looks with Olivia. It didn't look like it would take much to get Stan Stuart out of your way.  
"Thanks." He said, then took out his card. "This is my number. Call us if you remember anything else."  
As they walked away, Olivia pocketed her notepad.  
"That was useful." She said as they approached her car.  
"Well, he looked like a rookie. Didn't expect what was going to happen."  
"You would have thought that when he saw the bloody footprints, he would have called for backup." She said, opening the door.  
"He said he couldn't distinguish those." Elliot reminded her as he got in.  
"You can't not recognize blood." Olivia said simply, "Especially in this business." Then slammed the door as she got into her car as well.

* * *

**I've got the next two chapters written out so...please comment! I'd love to hear feedback!**


	2. Eliza Custer

**Chapter 1**

**  
MT. SINAI MEDICAL CENTER  
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK  
NOVEMBER 10TH**

"Hi, I'm Detective Stabler, and this is my partner, Detective Benson. Um, we were wondering where the new potential rape victim that came in about five minutes ago was?"  
The nurse at the counter looked through her record then looked back up and pointed down the hallway. "Go down there, and turn left, it's the first room on the right wall."  
"Okay, thanks." He said with a smile, and nodded towards the hall to Olivia and they both walked towards the ward.

As soon as they got there, the doctor shook hands with each of them in turn, then introduced himself.  
"I'm Dr. Bogen, I've just finished examining your victim. I don't know how she survived. She's... very badly wounded." He said with a touch of fatigue.  
"Well, we're the detectives working on this case. What are the chan—"  
"Doctor!" One of the nurses shrieked from behind the curtains. Dr. Bogen rushed behind the curtains to see what was the matter but it was already obvious to Stabler and Benson what had happened. The never-ending beep told them very clearly that their victim was dead.  
"To the morgue, then." Elliot said in a depressed tone as they walked out of the room.

**MEDICAL EXAMINER, MELINDA WARNER  
CITY MORGUE  
NOVEMBER 10TH**

"What's up, doc?" Elliot said as he approached the stainless steel table where their vic laid, hidden by a white sheet over her body. "Wow. They got her here fast."  
She smiled sardonically and went to the other side so she could face Olivia and Elliot properly.  
"Her name's Eliza Custer. We lifted her prints and looked for her in the database. Match came up on records. She was accused of stealing a pair of boots from the 504 Broadway Bloomingdales in SoHo, but charges were dropped." The M.E. lifted the corner of the sheet and lifted up Eliza's left hand. "You see those large slashes from the top of her arm – around armpit level – down to her wrists? I can tell you right now, I think your perp had intentions to fully flay her, if the good old NYPD hadn't interrupted his attractive moment. These cuts," She continued, lifting the flaps to show the cuts on her other arm and legs. "Have traces of rust on the edges. The knife this guy used wasn't Mr. Cleaned pro-attack. I'd say by the thin lining of the etches say that these were made by an exacto knife."  
"Is that all?" Olivia said blankly before remembering what Elliot had told her in the alley.  
"No," She said, and lifted up the bottom half of the sheet just as Fin and Munch came in and stood next to Olivia and Elliot in time for the grand reveal.  
"Oh, well, that's just—That's just too beyond nasty for me to say anything sarcastic right now." Munch said, grimacing as they all saw the aftermath of a violent slashing of Eliza's lower area.  
Fin stared for about a quick three seconds, then turned away. "That's _sick_." He said to himself, but loud enough for everyone to hear.  
Olivia shook her head, frowning like Elliot, as she looked at the poor girls scars.  
"Perp must have really hated her."

**  
16TH PRECINCT  
NOVEMBER 11TH**

Cragen handed their victims file to Olivia as he addressed her fellow Detectives.  
"I had a look at Eliza's file as soon as the M.E. called. Looks like other than the alleged robbery, she was pretty clean. Nothing out of the ordinary, it says she was born in New Jersey and is..." He paused. "_Was_ attending NYU. Elliot, Olivia, I think you should handle the school. Munch, Fin, you cover the Bloomingdales where they reported her robbery." He nodded to them and returned to his office.

**  
BLOOMINGDALES  
240 BROADWAY  
SOHO  
NOVEMBER 11TH**

"Yeah, I know of her. She's the only person in the history of everything to have ever attempted to steal something from this Bloomingdales." The young sales attendant said with a scoff as she put up new sweaters on the rack. Munch and Fin exchanged annoyed looks as they followed the snotty girl down to the hats and accessories area.  
"Well, why's that?" Fin asked, putting a hand on the ski hat she was going to put up and snatching it away.  
"Because," She said, snatching it back and putting it up on the hook, causing Tutuola to look disbelievingly at her, then at Munch. "Our manager's like, the scariest old guy in the world. You chew gum, he'll make you chew it outside so you don't risk accidentally forgetting to wrap it in the packaging and throw it away in the nearest garbage. He's very inhumanly hygienic. Don't mess with Sir Sanitary Freak."  
"Progressing well there, Drew?" A stern voice from behind them said with a cough.  
"Yes, Mr. Turnbull." She said quickly, then shot a look at the detectives and scuffled away.  
"How may I help you?" Turnbull asked, putting his hands on his aging hips.  
"This is my partner, Detective Munch, and I'm Detective Tutuola. Mind telling us about the woman who you said tried to rob your store a few months back?" Fin asked, taking his pad out.  
"Ohhh…" The manager said with asperity as he shook his head. "That little girl should have known better. She wasn't even good at it, you know! Didn't even bother to hide the boots. She stuck them in her purse and just walked towards the door. She kept on walking even as the sensors started ringing. I," He coughed. "I caught her myself, don't you know? At my age, you usually don't get a lot of action, but oh-ho boy, did I catch the thief..."  
"Do go on." Munch said, not looking impressed.  
Harold Turnbull looked at him irritably for interrupting his saga, and then continued, "Well, I got her by the arm and asked her what she thought she was doing. She looked completely amazed that the boots were there. She pretended she didn't know how they got there! Kept on telling me that someone probably snuck them into her bag without her knowing. I told her, next time you want to get away with that story, make a better job of concealing exhibit A! She kept on insisting and insisting that if I let her go, she wouldn't set foot in here again. It was quite the fight, but she got the best of me in the end. I got her fingerprint and got it into the police though. To get her on the files. Damn ruffians." He sniffed and walked away without another word.  
"What a lovely man." John commented before leaving the store with Fin.

**NEW YORK UNIVERSITY  
GREENWICH VILLAGE  
NOVEMBER 11TH**

Dean Valmont looked absolutely taken aback at the news of Eliza's death.  
"Any troubles with her lately? She seem a bit down, annoyed, distracted?" Olivia asked as she sat down across from the Dean in her office.  
"Why... no! I don't think so! Well, I mean, NYU has a lot of students, Detective, and I can't count for all of them… but from what I know, Eliza was a perfectly good student! I knew her mother well. She was a... Psychology major, I do believe..." She typed a few things into her computer and read the screen. "Yes, she was doing quite well in that class. I think her teacher should tell you a bit more. Conrad Thiessen, he's in the Psychology building, not too far from here. 6th Washington Place."

Conrad Thiessen was just closing his briefcase and heading for the door as Olivia and Elliot came walking into his office.  
"Um, who are you?" He said, eyeing them suspiciously.  
"We're from the NYPD, we're here to talk to you about the death of one of your students – Eliza Custer? We hear she was doing good in your class and were hoping you could tell us a bit more about her." Elliot said.  
Thiessen stopped and paused for a minute, then said. "You're kidding me, right?" He smiled, wagging his index finger at the two of them. "This is a prank, isn't it? Did Benny send you to do this to me?"  
Olivia and Elliot both took out their badges.  
"Sir, we are hardly on a level of kidding around." Olivia said. "Why don't you have a seat?"  
Conrad's eyes widened as he slowly sank into his chair.  
"So, what can you tell us about Eliza?" Elliot asked.  
"D... She um... Her s..." He stammered. "I'm sorry, detectives, I'm sort of..."  
"Take your time." Olivia offered.  
"I uh—S-she was a perfectly bright student. One of the best in my class... but you didn't hear it from me." Benson nodded, urging him to go on. "I don't know what went on in her personal life, but... she did seem a bit sidetracked the past few days. I think maybe it had something to do with her parents, but I wasn't sure. I overheard her talking to one of her friends when they were leaving class." He quickly explained.  
"I see. Does this friend have a name?" Elliot asked, looking at Olivia.  
"Oh, uh, Sarah... Sarah Truman... she doesn't live on campus though. I have all my students phone numbers and addresses in a folder though... You know, just in case." He opened his desk drawer and took out a beige folder. He searched through the different paperclipped papers and finally took one out. "There. Sarah Truman."  
"Okay. Thanks for your help, professor." Elliot said, taking the paper from him. He then followed Olivia out of the classroom.

* * *

**Muchos gracias to erail beki, jedi knight for the corrections and suggestions. And thanks to littlesweetcupcake for the review! Hope this chapter holds up a bit more.**


	3. Daddy dearest

**Chapter 2**

**16TH PRECINCT  
NOVEMBER 12TH**

"Well?" Asked Donnie Cragen as he took a sip of his coffee. "What'd you find?"  
"You can rule out the old geezer who filed the report of her shoplifting. I don't think he has enough power to kill some girl who's got twice as much muscle and youth than he does." Fin said, sighing.  
"Besides," Munch added as he sat on the corner of a nearby desk. "The M.E. said that our vic was slashed by a rusty knife… this guy can't even stand the sight of dust. I think he'd drop dead and roll himself into hell if he saw a rusty knife."  
"So the store's a fluke. Did you guys get any more luck?" Cragen asked.  
"Well, we got ourselves a few names, but that's about it." Elliot said, flipping through his pages of notes. "Sarah… Truman. Liv and I were planning on checking her out a bit later."  
"Hey," Olivia spoke up. "Could we get a file on Conrad Thiessen? He's her Psychology teacher."  
"Sure. I'll go inform Records and Research." Cragen said and departed.  
"Why do we want his file?" Elliot inquired with a small smile. "The guy seemed pretty shook up by the news of his student's death."  
"Can't cross him out though. For all we know, he could have taken drama in high school."  
Elliot shrugged. "Okay. Whatever you say. Want to check out Eliza's friend now?"  
"Might as well." Olivia grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair. "Let's hope she's got some sort of top-secret information that could give us a lead on who killed her friend."

**  
SARAH TRUMANS RESIDENCE  
PARK STREET, MANHATTAN  
NOVEMBER 12TH**

"I heard about Eliza's death from Mr. Thiessen," Sniffed Sarah as she wiped away some tears. She looked extremely distraught. "I can't believe someone would actually kill her! She was really well liked. Not a lot of people had grudges against her."  
"These sort of things usually seem to happen to the nice girls." Olivia quietly muttered under her breath, then continued. "Now you said there weren't a lot of people who didn't like her. But that meant there were a few?"  
"Well, she wasn't perfect. Some people didn't understand how sensitive and dependant she was."  
"Could any of these people have had the motive and chance to attack Eliza?" Stabler asked.  
"No! Well... I guess you never know, do you? There's always a psycho somewhere." Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks and got dabbed away by her tissue.  
"Now, um, someone told us that Eliza may have been having some troubles with her parents. Do you know anything about that?" Olivia asked gently.  
Sarah froze, eyes big and looking down, avoiding contact with the detectives. "N-no."  
"Sarah," Elliot sighed and pulled up a chair. He really didn't want to upset the girl even more but he couldn't think of any other way to get her to spill. "Do you know how Eliza was killed?" Sarah shook her head. "A man stripped her clothes off—"  
"No, please—"  
"—And he took an every-day household knife—"  
"Stop—"  
"—And he sliced your friend up like butter. He had no remorse for what he did and he's still out there, walking in the sunshine. For all we know, he may be preying on his next victim. Now whatever you can tell us that might help us with this investigation... Please do. It'll help bring her murderer to justice."  
Sarah cried even harder and got another tissue. Olivia walked and sat next to her on her bed, comforting her.  
"Are you sure you don't know anything about what might have been going on between Eliza and her parents?" She asked as gently as she could.  
"S... She said he was harassing her. Her father." Sarah blew her nose and sniffed. "He didn't want her to go to NYU when she graduated. He told her she should have stayed home and went to school there. He doesn't like New York... He says that it's only where prostitutes and drug dealers ever make a living. She told me he said that she couldn't make a future for herself by going to school here." She shook her head sadly. "He kept on sending her threats to come home on the phone, through email, letters... Whatever. It was starting to get to her. She wanted to report him, but she thought it was stupid to file something against your own father."  
Olivia was frowning as Sarah said all this. "Where did he send her letters to? Did Eliza have a dorm room or...?"  
"Um, n-no. She bought her own apartment with some money her mom had given her. And she was working part-time at a nearby music store."  
"Could we have her address?"  
"S-sure." Sniffing, Sarah recited Eliza's address to Elliot, who wrote it down.  
"Thanks, Sarah. We hope you'll feel better soon." They turned to leave when he spun around. "Oh, you said something about a part-time job... Where would that be?"  
"Uh, the uh... the one down on Central Park West."

"So where do we go first? Work or home?" Olivia asked as they approached their car.  
"Might as well go home. Find those lovely letters from daddy."  
"Sure."

**ELIZA CUSTERS RESIDENCE  
155th STREET, MANHATTAN  
NOVEMBER 12TH**

"Not a lot of interesting things." Elliot said as he flipped through recent mail. "Taxes, junk mail, ads..."  
"Nothing in her bedroom either." Olivia said as she came out of a room. "She cleaned this place up really fast." She headed to the kitchen.  
"Or somebody else did." Elliot said as he looked around. "There has to be something…"  
"Hey, Elliot!" Olivia called out from the kitchen.  
He stopped and walked into the kitchen to find Olivia staring at the fridge. He strolled behind her and looked over her shoulder to see a scrap piece of paper with an address on it.

_Friday:_  
_Meet D. at his place on 345 Broome Street_

"D for Dad?" She asked.  
"Your guess is as good as mine. Let's check out this 'D's house."

"Here it is. Broome Street." Olivia said as they got out of her car and looked up at their destination. A grubby little home that was beginning to fall apart.  
"Oh, don't you just love our beautiful city?" Stabler asked sarcastically, grinning, as he and Benson walked up to the door and knocked. Nobody answered. He knocked again.  
"Is anyone home? New York Police Department!" He said loudly.  
The door burst open and an old man looked at them cautiously. "What department?"  
"Manhattan SVU. Do you know who Eliza Custer is, sir?" Benson asked politely. She looked at his eyes with interest. One was blue and the other was green. Not something you saw every day.  
"No idea." He went to close the door, but Elliot stopped him.  
"I beg to differ. Your address was found at her apartment. Now, why would she have a strangers address on her fridgefor no reason?" The man stopped and looked away.  
"Are you her father?"  
He paused, then sighed. "Yes."  
"Well this is interesting. We heard from a friend of your daughters that you weren't a big fan of New York. Quite ironic, finding you in one of the grubbiest places in the city that you so fondly hate."  
"I came here for business." He grumbled.  
"Oh?" Elliot smiled. "And what would that business be?"  
"...Just business." He growled.  
"Don't you even want to know why we're here?" Olivia asked.  
"Eliza probably went off and slept with the wrong guy and he reported her or something." He said angrily. "That girl doesn't know how to take care of herself."  
"Actually, _sir_, your daughter was raped and sadistically slashed and left to die in a grimy alley - so maybe insulting her isn't exactly the ideal way to value her memory." Stabler said, getting annoyed.  
Eliza's father stopped for a minute, then said. "She probably had it coming."  
Olivia could sense Elliot's right hand forming into a fist and quickly asked, "Did you ever actually meet up with your daughter on Friday?"  
"No." He said stiffly. "She never showed up. I should have known... She was always a tardy girl." He tapped his foot impatiently.  
"Did you ever have contact with her before that? After she moved to New York?"  
"No. My wife got the message to her to meet me here."  
"All right. Thanks for your time." Olivia said, then put a hand on Elliot's shoulder. "Let's go."  
Elliot glared at Eliza's father for another second, then brusquely turned around and went with Olivia back to their car.  
_That bastard_.

* * *

**It's coming slowly, but expect a third chapter within the few days! :) Much appreciation to those who reviewed!**


	4. Not enough

**A/N: Thanks to EVERYONE who reviewed! TJ, you rock! The third chapter's finally up! Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 3  
**

"Yeah, we just talked to him." Olivia said into her cellphone as she stopped at a red light with Elliot in shotgun seat. "I didn't get the best vibe from him. Maybe Records and ...?"  
"Already on it." Cragen's voice cut in. "We already know his name's Ryan Custer, married to Jenny Oswald, resides in New Jersey and a few other minor information. But that's about it."  
Elliot took her phone from her. When she looked at him to protest, he pointed at her, then at the road. "Drive."  
She sighed and stepped on the pedal as the streetlight hit green.  
"So, Liv and I were heading for the music store Eliza worked at, if that's all right. We'll report back if we catch anything interesting."  
"Alright. Dig up as much as you can." A click was heard just as the Captain ended his sentence.

**MOHAVE'S TUNES  
CENTRAL PARK WEST, MANHATTAN  
NOVEMBER 12TH**

"Eliza's dead?" Asked the pseudo-hippie owner as he pushed away one of his auburn dreadlocks.  
"You don't sound very surprised." Said Olivia suspiciously.  
"Well, why would I be, man? Lately she was like, a troubled kid." He lit his herbal cigarette and took a puff.  
"'A troubled kid', what's that supposed to mean?" Asked Elliot.  
"You know... She was totally weird and zoned out. Like some freak was stalking her or something. She kept coming in late and putting the wrong records in the sections. Totally not like her. This old guy even came in and started freaking out on her. I kicked him out of here and told him I'd like, put a flower in his rifle if he came back. Not a real rifle, but like..."  
Olivia was staring at him blankly as he talked. This guy didn't make much sense. Her head jerked up when he mentioned the last part though. She looked at Elliot and it looked like he had just woke up and was interested too.  
"What old guy?" He interrupted.  
"Like, this white-haired dude. He had one green eye and one blue. I totally spazzed out at that. Such a rad set of eyes on such a totally uncool dude."  
"One green eye and blue..." Olivia muttered, then looked at Elliot. "Sounds like Ryan to me."  
"'Didn't go near her' my ass. So um..." He turned back to the owner. "Did you catch what he was saying?"  
"Stuff like, 'You ain't my daughter, you dirty bee-atch!' and stuff. I didn't know she had a dad..." His eyes glazed over.  
Olivia gawked incredulously at him, then said without much emotion, "Thanks... Let us know if you remember anything else."  
She highly doubted he would.

**16TH PRECINCT  
NOVEMBER 14TH**

"So, what? Dad calls up his daughter who he hasn't contacted in two years, decides that she's not worthy enough to live and slashes her all across her body?" Casey Novak stood up and shook her head. "Not enough probable cause and just plain ridiculous. I can't get a warrant."  
"But we have an eyewitness that places him at her workspace, when he knowingly told us that he had never had contact with his daughter since his arrival in New York. That's fishy behaviour, if you ask me." Argued Olivia as she put her hands on her hips.  
"_It's not enough_." Casey enunciated as she turned to face all of them. "All you've got is onestoned storekeeper on your witness list and he's not credible at all. It's not going to impress a judge into signing a warrant."  
"Casey, come on." Elliot stepped up. "We can nail this guy. The owner definitely remembered him... the eyes. It's hard to forget different coloured eyes. Even when you're high. Just tell the judge we've got a hard lie against him, make it your focal argument."  
"I'm sorry, Elliot. I just can't. Call me when you guys get more evidence. I'll try for a warrant then." She gave them a _What can I do?_ shrug, grabbed her suitcase and departed.  
"Great." Olivia said irritably after Novak left. "We've caught this guy in a lie that could announce who his daughters killer is and it's 'not enough'. You know, sometimes the law just really bugs me."  
"I think I've got something to change your mind," Cragen said as he came out of his office, holding a beige file. He held it out to her. "Conrad Thiessen's file. It looks like the professor had a bit of a background that he forgot to mention to you guys."  
"'Three attempted rape cases, filed by three of hisfemale students.'" Olivia read out loud and closed it. "All charges dropped."She looked at Elliot. "What'd I tell you? Drama."  
"All right, all right. Let's pay Mr. Thiessen another visit." Stabler said, grabbing his coat and walking with Oliviato the door.


End file.
